TWENTY years ago, you probably had never heard of the phrase “diet culture”; and counting calories wasn’t thought of as “toxic”—it was fun.
Fat-shaming TV shows such as You Are What You Eat and The Biggest Loser UK had millions of viewers, while gossip magazines were full of photos of celebrities’ so-called bikini bodies being examined for signs of weight gain.
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Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since the days of dangerous diet fads and size zero models. Gyms now improve mental health benefits The importance of fitness rather than how many calories you can burn on the treadmill.
So what happens when you really want to burn calories and lose weight by whispering it? Where can you turn? With current buzzwords like “intuitive eating” and “mindful movement,” wanting to lose weight can feel like a dirty little secret.
It was the same for Jennifer George of Berkshire, who began a weight-loss effort in 2018.
“The turning point came after I went to a friend’s birthday party,” says Jennifer, now 30. I saw the picture someone took of me with my future mother and I looked huge. I was very embarrassed.
People ask, ‘Are you unhappy?’ they asked.
Jennifer, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed 15.2 lbs and was a size 16. According to the NHS calculator he was obese with a BMI of 34.2. So she joined a well-known weight loss club, followed their diet plans and attended weekly weigh-ins. But he didn’t tell anyone.
“As the weight started to fall off, my friends would tell me how great I looked. “I was constantly receiving nice compliments.”
But when she said the D word, she quickly felt judged. Jennifer, who is currently mum to ten-month-old Luna and is on maternity leave from her job as a recruiter, says: “The compliments abruptly stopped when I said I was on a diet and had paid to join a weight loss group.
“I quickly discovered that it was unacceptable to even talk about dieting, let alone tell people you were dieting.
“People ask, ‘Are you unhappy?’ they ask. and ‘What are you dieting for?’
“I was obviously overweight, but they didn’t see a problem with that.”
Traditional diet groups have fallen out of favor in recent years.
WeightWatchers decided to stop selling its products on its website in 2023, and its share value fell 25 percent in February this year after Oprah Winfrey announced that she was taking a weight-loss drug and would step down from the board.
Another global diet brand, Jenny Craig, went bankrupt Australia and after 40 years of business in New Zealand, last year saw meal replacement SlimFast sales fall by 17 per cent. Now, the beleaguered diet
Companies are trying to roll back the tradition, with the rise of weight-loss drugs thought to be behind companies like WeightWatchers trying to appeal to people after a quick fix.
It recently acquired Sequence, a telehealth firm that allows patients to get virtual prescriptions for new weight-loss drugs.
Sima Sistani, CEO of WeightWatchers, said: business Fortune magazine: “We accept that we learn, that science advances, and therefore we must learn, too.”
The irony is that I met my husband when I was 15 and he prefers me curvier.
But statistics show that the decline in dieting is also down to attitudes. The hashtag #bodypositive has almost 20 million Instagram posts and the global plus-size fashion market is worth around £228bn.
Jennifer believes this “body positive” movement may have triggered negativity regarding her diet.
“I brace myself for the inevitable insults at social events,” he says. “’Oh, look, you’ve lost even more weight!’ I was hearing things like. Even ‘Is your husband behind this?’ They were questioning my relationship by saying hurtful things like.
“The irony is that I met my husband when I was 15 and he prefers me curvier.”
But he’s not the only one coming under attack when it comes to weight loss. Singers Adele and Lizzo have been labeled “traitors” for losing weight.
In 2020, reality TV’s Scarlett Moffatt admitted to deliberately gaining weight to deter fans from buying her fitness DVD; 3. exercise program after it was revealed that the weight loss was the result of a 700-calorie-a-day diet and boot camp rather than just healthy eating.
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Jennifer, who quit the slimming club after losing third place, admits some aspects of the diet industry didn’t sit well with her.
“I was losing weight, but very slowly. Was this intentional, so I would keep coming back? “I also didn’t like standing on the scale in front of everyone.”
Now a size 12, Jennifer welcomes the body positivity movement.
I think I need to embrace my larger figure.
“It’s amazing that a bikini body now means women of all shapes and sizes can wear bikinis,” she says. But he also admits that there are disadvantages. “It’s okay if people don’t want to lose weight, but that means there’s no room for people like me who want to lose weight,” she says. “My thought is: I need to embrace my bigger figure.”
Jenny attributes her past weight gain to using food as an emotional crutch. “I’ve always been heavier since I was a kid,” she says.
“My weight peaked in my mid-twenties, when I was using food as comfort.
“I worked long hours as a real estate agent and would reach for food when I got stressed.
“Then when I started a relationship, we would eat high-calorie meals out together and I would eat larger portions.”
Today, Jenny refuses to weigh herself regularly and does not have a scale at home. Last time she checked it was between 11 and 12.
As for those who think they should not diet; news for them.
“I want to lose some more weight,” he says.
“I will be happy when I lose half a stone, I am dieting to achieve this.
“When I look in the mirror I still feel chubby in my hips and arms; Sometimes at the baby shower I still think I’m that big.
“It took time for my brain to catch up with how I looked.
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“Friends who are trying to lose weight often message me for tips.
“But this is done one on one, at the lowest level, we can’t talk about it.”